Dihydromyricetin is a flavonoid found in the Cedrus deodara tree, more commonly known as the Japanese raisin tree (Hovenia dulcis).

The tree extract became very popular after an article in New Scientist magazine revealed that Dihydromyricetin (DHM) had been clinically tested as a cure for alcohol induced hangovers! (The flavanol was also used to break the cycle of alcohol addiction, but to the average binge drinker that was not nearly as important as dihydromyricetin’s abilities to make work the day after a big night out bearable)

Dihydromyricetin has actually been used for over 500 years in China as a cure to common hangovers.

DHM StudiesIn the New Scientist article, Jing Liang of the University of California, Los Angeles, led a research team who first tested whether DHM blocks the clumsiness and loss of coordination caused by drinking too much. To do this, she measured how long it took for treated rats to right themselves after being laid on their backs in a V-shaped cradle.

After the research team injected rats’ abdomens with a dose of alcohol proportionate to the amount a human would get from necking 15 to 20 beers in 2 hours, the rats took about 70 minutes, on average, to right themselves.

When an injection of the same amount of alcohol included a milligram of DHM per kilogram of rat body weight, the animals recovered their composure within just 5 minutes!

Further studies also showed that DHM stopped rats in a maze from behaving in ways resembling anxiety and hangovers.

Rats given heavy doses of alcohol cowered away in corners of the maze, whereas those given the extract with their alcohol behaved normally. They were just as inquisitive as rats given no alcohol at all, exploring the more open corridors of the maze.

How Dihydromyricetin WorksDr Liang and her team observed that all of the benefits of DHM were lost instantly when rats were also given a drug named flumazenil, which is known to block receptors in the brain for a neurotransmitter called gamma aminobutyric acid, or GABA.

According to the researchers, this showed that DHM works by stopping alcohol from accessing the same receptors. Further, this explains why DHM kept the rats sober even when they had huge amounts of alcohol in their blood.

What Does This Mean?The studies of Dr Liang “supports other data that GABA receptors are key in the actions of alcohol and that targeting this interaction is a viable approach to reducing alcohol intake,” according to David Nutt of Imperial College London, former head of the British government’s advisory committee on drugs and recent media sensation over his creation of a ‘hangover cure pill‘